I've been procrastinating over assembling minis for my Forest project, as I need to partition out my Wargames Atlantic/Oathmark/Frostgave/Victrix plastics into warbands.
It's kinda the opposite of a sunk-cost fallacy as the more boxes you have, the more choices and combos. I've revived many old mini sprues with the generous extra arms, heads and legs.
So I'm paralysed with indecision so am typing this out to organize my thoughts. (Also will reassure folks this blog is still running!)
Background
The titular Forest is a haunted, magical place, full of old ruins which the forest has consumed. Think Mayan pyramids buried by the jungle, but swap in spooky European Black Forest vibes. Mirkwood, if Sauron had taken over. Over millennia, vast cities have been lost beneath the vegetation, creating subterranean labyrinths. Once great and terrible warlock-kings ruled, and the echoes of their magic have warped and twisted reality. Pockets of malignant magic has created mutants, monsters and returned things from the grave. The ambient magic and magic-tainted artifacts can be used but at a cost; prolonged exposure will corrupt or taint the user. All magic is powerful. All magic corrupts. And sometimes what is lost should never be found.
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This setting is not original at all - my kids and I were inspired by Metro 2033 and STALKER books and games, and images of the abandoned city of Pripyat and its environs. We wondered "what if it was set in medieval times with crossbows instead of AK47s, and magic instead of radiation."
As well as the Witcher, we've since discovered Symbaroum which covers very similar themes. Mordhiem, Skyrim and the PC game Vermintide have also influenced, as have the Conquistadors. (I love the idea of Conquistadors, but the Aztec miniatures in their flipflops, bird plumes and pajama onesies do not appeal.). Technology is Warhammer-esque high medieval with gunpowder making an appearance.
The main aim is for warbands to explore the forest and dungeons beneath, collecting artifacts to sell. Forest-Dungeongrave, perhaps? As a bonus, terrain is simple, generic and re-usable (the forests can be used for other genres and games, the dungeons likewise).
Warband Size
My aim is to make warbands that at least faintly align with Mordhiem in case I ever decided to revive it (doubtful, I love the setting but not the mechanics), following a rough pattern: hero/leader, ~2 subhero/leaders, 1 magic user, ~4+ specialist troops, ~4 missile and ~4 melee.
I'm a bit stressed with how many boxes I have, given my energetic clearing of my backlog it's kinda offputting having a new backlog... The croc is a $5 Jurassic Park toy awaiting basing/painting.
--Warbands--
Red Sisters/Sisters of Mercy (Frostgave Soldiers II, WA City Guard)
Pretty much a direct Mordhiem rip, but with assassins and maybe the Witch Hunter flagellants shifted here. Red uniforms, theme weapons are swords, bows, whips and maces. Only full sisters are armoured. One mage, plus a bound possessed give the magic backup. Typical GW, with a dash from the Mark Lawrence book Red Sister.
Mother Superior (armoured); Sister Mage, ~2 Battle Sisters (armoured), ~2 Sisters of Mercy (assassins/agile/daggers); 4 melee Novices, 4 missile Novices, bound 'possessed'.
Black Hats/Cloaks/Witch Hunters (WA City Guard, Frostgave Soldiers I, WA Conquistadors, Oathmark Light Elves)
Generic Witch Hunters useful for all genres. Black cloaks and uniforms, hats, use pistols, crossbows, muskets, swords, fire. Maybe swap more stuff with sisters to make it more distinct from Mordhiem. No distinct magic user but magic detection/nullifying gear, maybe 'leashed' damned with single power which are bound with tattoos or runes. Themes are Solomon Kane, Inquisition, etc etc.
Witch Hunter (armoured), 2 Witch Hunter Apprentices (armoured), 2 hunter/dog handlers (bows/spears) + 4 dogs; 4 repentant/flagellants (damned, have some magic mark, a single unusual ability or fanatics). 4 Hirelings/Militia.
Wolf Raiders (Victrix/Gripping Beast Vikings/Dark Age Peasants, WA Werewolves)
Viking werewolves. I have a lot of spare vikings and I want an excuse to buy WA werewolves, okay? Few missile troops, mostly a melee faction, wide use of shields and chainmail. Basically Underworld meets TV show Vikings.
Chief, Seer/Volva (mage) + apprentice, 2 Named Men (armoured+shied), 4 Thegns (armoured+shield), 2 werewolves/skinchangers, 4 shield+spear/axe Bondi, 2 bow Bondi.
Elf Rangers (Oathmark Light Elves, 3D Printed Eagles)
Typical wood elves a la Mirkwood. The other anti-magic "police" faction. The elves remember the horrors of the warlock-kings milennia ago and are determined to stop a repeat. They know some things should best be left undisturbed. Basically use guerilla warfare, Indian-style, to chase off and exterminate explorers and settlers, to prevent evil from rising again. The usual longbows, spears, elf-cloaks and shields. Light armour. Very limited anti-magic spells or aura spells - no battle magic. Very heavy archery focus. Use eagles for scouting and combat.
Leader, Seer, 4 armoured elves, 8 bow/sword/spear elves, 2 eagles.
Goblin Refugees (Oathmark Goblin Slaves)
These are scattered remnants of the great hordes who served the dark lords of old. Persecuted and hated, they are just trying to get by. They will work and live alongside humans where tolerated in "ghettoes", but will rob and murder if needed to survive, and will hunt and fight for rare artifacts. Usually poorly armed and equipped, they are the Skaven swarm faction.
Leader, Shaman, 4 Named Goblins, 6 melee goblins, 6 missile goblins, 2 assassins/scouts, 2 spider handlers + 4 spiders.
Cultists (Frostgave Cultists, WA Reptoids, WA Spiders)
These fanatics worship either The Great Dragon or Spider Goddess. Led by a powerful wizard, their acolytes have been changed by the dark gifts of their patron. Usually lightly armoured but powerful monsters and strong offensive magic.
Black mage, 2 possessed, 2 mutants, 2 dark knights (armoured), 4 missile acolytes, 4 melee acolytes.
Wizard's Guild (Frostgrave Wizards, Frostgrave Soldiers, WA City Guard)
Wizards come to the Forest from far and wide. Not all are content to just buy artifacts - many want to hunt relics themselves or study them in situ. These magic archeologists and explorers are the most potent magic faction. Not only do they have their own familiar or golems, but also hire soldiers and adventurers to fight for them. Despite precautions and knowledge, many eventually fall into corruption and pursue dark arts like necromancy.
Wizard, apprentice, 2 familiars/golems, guard captain (armoured); 4 missile adventurers, 4 melee adventurers.
Undead (Frostgave Cultists, Oathmark Undead Peasants, 3D Printed Dire Wolves, Frostgrave Undead)
The ambient magic is sometimes so intense it can bring the dead back to unlife; and potent and malignant magics are often used by fallen Wizards to sustain their life unnaturally, gain powers or create an unliving army. Classic Mordhiem undead faction. Vampire, black mage, 4 ghouls, 8 zombies, 4 dire wolves.
Private Military Contractors (WA City Guard, Frostgave Soldiers I, WA Conquistadors)
Aka city forces from Mordhiem, or the military/faction Stalkers from the PC games. There are several flavours; a shooty faction, a melee faction, and a high-tech well equipped faction which can then be used from Mordhiem. To add flavour, each gets their own specialist unit. It may be elite swordsman with Zweihanders, expert scouts/huntsman, armoured handgunners, sword-and-buckler men, pikemen.
Captain (armoured), 2 lieutenants (armoured), 4 melee; 4 missile; 4 specialists (varies).
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There is Nothing New Under the Sun
As you can see, there is nothing very original here - most can be adapted to Mordhiem rather easily, goblins are kinda rebadged Skaven, elves are pretty wood-elf-stock-standard, wizards are very Frostgrave - but that's the point. At the start of this year I bemoaned I lack generic fantasy minis that can work for various projects, and the Forest is a fun project my kids and I jointly constructed to give it impetus and a framework. Having painted some 683 models this year, I know having bite sized chunks and the ability to be creative is important; and the small warbands provide that. In the process, I've already painted a vast army of NPCs/hostile fauna to populate battles and encounters.
Current Rules
The kids and I have been RPGing using homebrew rules loosely based on Savage Worlds - the dice are stats - d4 poor, d6 average, d8 good, d10 great and d12 superhuman - and score 4 or more to succeed. It probably makes sense to continue to use this and formalise this for the Forest-as-Mordhiem - I personally don't like the hassle of herding multiple dice types in wargames but it would allow the kids to transfer what they know and would tie in with Savage World supplements etc for when I need spells etc - going off something familiar helps when you are balancing games using rough estimation...
